Chapter 5. I think... I Like Tom Yum

It took 6 weeks before I met him again. We were in Toronto. I had just changed into my normal clothes (pair of jeans and a black top) and I was checking my costumes. Usually I managed to to break atleast on zipper, because we had to change costumes in hurry. It was like a fashion show. Sometimes we only had less than 30 seconds and it occasionally resulted quite interesting apparels. Like today I had trouble getting my ballet shoes off quick enough so I had to dance hip hop bare feet.

Filippa came to me with a weird smile on her face.

"You have a visitor." she whispered.

I turned around and there he was. Oh boy. He had a beautiful tulip bouquet in his hands.

"I wanted to bring these personally." he said

I was stunned. Filippa left us alone whispering into my ear that "You have to tell me EVERYTHING when you'll get back."

"Thank you." I gasped and took the flowers.

I was normally a sane person with ability to have a conversation without looking like an idiot. Sidney Crosby had this annoying power over me. He turned me into a 3-year-old.

"You're welcome."

"What are you doing here? I mean, shouldn't you be playing against the leafs?"

Ops! Now he knew that I knew his game schedule.

"The game's over already and I gave only one interview." he explained.

"Oh."

"I saw the last 5 minutes of your show and I have to brag that I was right."

"About what?" I asked confused.

"About you being a great dancer."

"Oh." Stop saying oh!

"Fippa told me you're always hungry after the show so I made a reservation."

I raised my eyebrows. What?

"How...um...Fip..."

Sidney chuckled. I guess he found my reaction amusing.

"I got her number from Jordan." he explained.

He didn't ask me why I hadn't called or emailed him. I was relieved.

"So will you have dinner with me?"

I was extremely hungry, but truth to be told, dinner with him scared me. I wasn't the most ladylike person when it came to eating. I eat a lot and usually too fast. And when I eat it is really hard for me to keep up with the conversation. I am so concentrated on the food. What can I say, I love food.

Apparently he took my silence as yes.

"Come on. The car's waiting outside."

I followed him outside. A silver Mercedes Benz was parked right outside the doors.

"That's a nice car." I said and he smiled.

"It's my friends car. I just borrowed it for tonight."

"Wow, if any of my friends had a Mercedes, they would never let my drive it." I laughed.

"Why not?"

"Cars aren't my friends. I think I've scratched every single one I've driven."

He laughed? Why? Was I even funny? Most likely not, he was just being polite.

He opened the front door for me. The seat was made of leather, Everything about the interior made me catch my breath. Sidney sat next to me and started the engine.

"It must be fun to drive this thing after your Toyota Corola." I joked. I knew he had a carage full of expensive cars. Just like every other professional male athlete.

For awhile we drove silently. I started to relax. Sitting next to him wasn't so bad. It was actually quite nice. I could smell his cologne. I don't know why but I just love men's colognes. Sometimes when I'm shopping I go and smell them in a some department store.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked breaking the silence.

"You'll see." he said and gave me a mysterious smile.

I wanted to tease him, because he seemed to be so confident and sure of himself.

"I hope you know that I'm on a strict diet. I can only eat fresh vegetables." I said matter of factly.

"Right." He nodded.

"And.. they have to be green vegetables and... organic... and from Argentina." I continued.

"Tango dancing vegetables from Buenos Aires. I'm sure they can serve you that." He said with a straight face.

"I hope they're not that fresh." I laughed.

He gave me a quick glance.

"You have a nice laugh." He said.

"Thanks. I've practiced a lot."

He parked the car in front of what looked like a Thai restaurant. I noticed that there was a sign saying that the place was closed.

"Um.. it's closed." I said. I was a bit disappointed because I love Thai food.

"Not for us."

First I didn't realize that he took my hand and pulled me to the door. After a knock a tiny Thai lady with a huge smile came to open the door. She welcomed us and let us in. When we sat down she brought us our food.

"I ordered the food on the phone." He said.

"How did you know that Tom Yum soup is my favorite?" I asked surprised.

"I did some research." he said and smiled. I liked his smile. It looked like everything in him was smiling.

The food was divine. I managed to eat properly though I had to remind myself to slow down.

"Did they close this place just for us?" I asked.

He nodded. Wow! So the dinner would cost much more than just the price of Tom Yum, chicken with roasted garlic and rice.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked seriously.

"Because next time when I'll write my number on your hand, I want you to actually call me."